Japanese Design Today

The Japan Foundation presents the world premiere of the exhibition Japanese Design Today 100, which opens at UCLA’s Department of Architecture & Urban Design at Perloff Hall starting on June 27.

This exhibition showcases the Designscape of contemporary Japan through 100 objects of Japanese design: 89 objects created since 2010 that can be seen in Japan today, as well as 11 objects that represent the origin of Japanese post-war modern product design. These 100 product designs are displayed in 10 categories: Classic Japanese Design, Furniture & Housewares, Tableware & Cookware, Apparel & Accessories, Children, Stationery, Hobbies, Healthcare, Disaster Relief, and Transportation.

Designscape showcases popular designs as well as what is known as high design. Not all of them have the hard-edged, clean lines typical of modern design; many have more supple forms typical of traditional crafts. These differences reflect the tendency of current Japanese design to focus on day-to-day life in Japan, while represent the Japanese lifestyle, history, culture and tradition.

This exhibition can be approached as a virtual trip to Japan. It gives viewers a good idea of many aspects of contemporary Japanese culture.

Since 2004, the previous version of this exhibition has traveled around the world while fascinating countless viewers in many countries including Egypt, India, and Russia. After a decade since its launch, the Japan Foundation has updated the entire exhibition to reflect the changes in design. Los Angeles is the first port stop for Designscape as it embarks on yet another ten year journey around the world.

Instagram

ABOUT RAFU SHIMPO

The Rafu Shimpo has been the nation's leading Japanese American newspaper since its original publication. We are proud to have served the Japanese American community from our Little Tokyo office in Downtown Los Angeles since 1903.